Brooklynites Reject All Three of the DOT’s Design Options for BQE’s Atlantic Interchange

By Yehudit Garmaise

When Department of Transportation (DOT) officials sought to gather community feedback on three new designs that seek to rebuild the spot where the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway (BQE) meets Atlantic Avenue, most of the 140 Brooklynites gave “thumbs-down” at a meeting that was conducted on Zoom.

On June 15, the DOT and its design partners WXY Studio and Sam Schwartz Engineering presented three different design concepts that aimed to shorten pedestrian walkways, provide more safety, and reduce traffic at the 1.5-mile interchange at the southernmost end of the BQE: from Atlantic Avenue to Sands Street.

The majority of the Zoom meeting’s participants, however, complained that the DOT’s proposals would shift unsafe traffic conditions from Atlantic Avenue onto the streets of Cobble Hill and increase air pollution in nearby residential areas, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle reported.

DOT Chief Strategy Officer Julie Bero defended the DOT’s plans by explaining that the Atlantic interchange is so heavily used that reducing traffic in the area is not so simple.

“[The Atlantic Interchange] is of the only full interchanges in Brooklyn with on- and off-ramps connecting to the highway,” Bero said. 

The spot “is a mapped freight route and a vital connection for the regional economy, “Bero explained. “More than 50% of trucks using this interchange are traveling within Brooklyn.

While the DOT’s three designs seek to correct a plethora of challenges and concerns at the busy interchange, Bero pointed out that “a perfect solution to this area that will accommodate all needs” is “unlikely.”

NYC Councilmember Lincoln Restler thanked DOT’s efforts to “reduce crossing lengths for pedestrians,” but he said the agency’s proposals will increase truck and car traffic in the area.

“I hope the DOT will go back to the drawing board to address this unsafe area,” Councilmember Restler said.